doris evangeline utterback: 1903-2004

Former Steamboat Springs resident Doris Evangeline Utterback died Sept. 1, 2004, at the Pioneer Health Care Center in Rocky Ford. She was 100.Doris was born Dec. 15, 1903, in Laramie, Wyo., to Grant and Delia Simmons. During her childhood and well into her adulthood, Doris and her parents spent the winters in Laramie and returned to their "Slavonia" home in the Mount Zirkel Wilderness Area north of Steamboat during summers.Doris attended the University of Wyoming Preparatory School before enrolling at the University of Wyoming in 1930. In 1932 Doris transferred to "Aggies," now known as Colorado State University, where she was the first woman to major in animal husbandry. She also was the first woman selected for the university's livestock judging team, which competed nationally.While at the university, Doris met her future husband, Dr. John A. Utterback of Steamboat. They were married in 1939 but later divorced. A daughter, Karin Dee, was born in 1942.During her years living in Steamboat, Doris worked for four years as the school lunch supervisor for the Steamboat Springs School District. She moved to Rocky Ford in 1952 to be near her widowed mother and her brother, L. Vernon Simmons, then superintendent of schools.Doris was the dietary supervisor of the Pioneer Memorial Hospital for eight years. In 1964, she moved to Denver to become the residence housemother of St. Luke's Hospital School of Nursing Education. She returned to Rocky Ford after the school closed.During her retirement Doris was an avid gardener, and she became a master gardener. She celebrated her 100th birthday in December 2003.She is survived by a daughter, Karin Utterback-Normann and her husband, Ron, of Steamboat.A private graveside service will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Arkansas Valley Hospice, 118 W. Fourth St., La Junta, CO 81050.